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2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

D. LEIB. Sewing-Machine Treadle.

No.' 225,150. Patented Mane, 1880.

NIFEFERS, FKOTO-LDT1OGRAFHER WASHINGTON D c 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

D. "LEIB. Sewing-Machine Treadle.

No. 225,150 Patented Mar. 2, 1880.

N. PErERs. PHOT0-UTHOGHAFNER. WASHmGTIJm D G UNIT D STATES PATENTQFFICE.

DAVID LEIB, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HIS RIGHT TOGEORGE NEWTON DEWEY, OF SAME PLACE.

SEWING-MACHINE TREADLE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 225,150, dated March 2,1880.

Application filed December 18, 1879. v

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID LEIB, of Columbus, in the county of Franklinand State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTreadles for- Sewing-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention' relates to sewing -machine treadles which are hung so asto have a swing- IO ing action, and in which the hanging-pivots arecoincident with the ankle-joint, and the foot and the treadle move inthe arc of a circle of which the ankle-joint is the center, whereby themotion is obtained by the action of the feet, and relieve the limbs andbody of strain. In such construction it is important that the treadle bemade adjustable, so as to give it more or less heel leverage and motion,by having the front of the treadle stand at a greater or less height inrelation to the throw of the crank or action of the pitman-rod. Thisdesirable object is effected by changing the angle of the treadle bymeans which allow its swinging arms to be shifted upon their pivots ofsuspension, and thereby adapt the action of the treadle to the easyaction of the operator, said swinging arms being provided with a seriesof holes at their upper ends, into which the pivot-bearings may hechanged, as may be desired.

The pivot-bearings for the treadle are formed upon plates which areadjustably secured to the end frames of the machine, and upon thesepivot-bearings are secured springs, in a manner that their free endswill thereby serve as an auxiliary force to the heel-leverage and renderthe heel movement more easy and natural, leaving the principal part ofthe work of the foot to the toe-leverage of the treadle.

My improvement is applicable to the treadles of any of the machines inuse.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a view, inperspective, of a treadle for sewing-machines embracing my improvement;Fig. 2, a top View; Fig. 3, an end elevation of the same; and Fig. 4,one of the treadle-arms, showing the spring-connection therewith.

Myimproved treadle hanging and swinging device consists of a slottedbar, a, secured to the under side of the treadle A by means of a plate,I), on the upper side of said treadle, and screw-bolts c c, passingthrough said top plate, the treadle, and the lower slotted bar,

so as to clamp and secure these parts together 5, 5 by nuts screwed uponthe lower ends of the bolts.

To the ends of the lower slotted bar, a, which extends beyond the endsof the treadle, are secured the swinging arms 01 of the treadle, saidarms bein formed with right-angled lower slotted ends, 61, through whichscrewbolts 0 are passed into the slot of the bottom bar, and secured bynuts. The upper-ends of these arms are made wide enough to have 65formed therein a series of holes, f, by means of which the treadle ishung upon pivot-bearings g g, cast upon brackets h h, which extend eachway from said pivot-bearings, and are slotted, one or both ends havingslotted curved branches h It, so that they may be secured to the innersides of the end frames of the machine by means of screw-bolts 1'. i,which pass through a slotted plate, j, on the outer sides of saidframes, and secured by nuts. 7 5

The side brackets can be adjusted and secured in the required positionsto the end frames by reason of the bolts being adapted, by the slots ofsaid brackets, to pass through the open-work of said frames, so as tobring the bracket-pivots in the proper positions to receive thetreadle-swinging arms.

.I have shown my improved swinging device as applied to the singletreadle of a Howe machine; but it may be applied to other forms oftreadles and to separate treadles.

The bottom slotted bar, a, allows the treadle or treadles to be properlyadjusted thereon, and the slotted base ends 01 of the swinging arms 01allow of their adjustment to suit the 0 width between the end frames.The pivotbearings g are in line with the ankle-joint, so as to bring theaction upon the foot and relieve the limbs and body of strain.

The capacity for changing the pivot-bear- 5 ings of the treadle withoutchanging the positions of the brackets gives important; advantages inallowing the front or heel part of the treadle to stand higher or lowerwith respect to the crank-movement or pitman-connection, 10o

for the purpose of giving more or less heelleverage to the operator, andthereby render the heel action more easy and regular.

To increase the heel-leverage or angle of the treadle the pivot-bearingsg are placed in the front holes of the swinging arms, and to diminishsuch leverage or angle of the treadle said pivot-bearings are placed inthe rear holes ofsaid arms, while the intermediate holes serve to give amedium adjustment to the angle of the treadle and to the heel-leverage.This adjustment can be made by loosening the connection of the arms withthe base slotted bar and shifting the swinging arms into the desiredholes, and again securing the arms.

As an auxiliary aid to the heel-leverage, I connect springs k to thepivot-bearings in a manner to cause their free ends, which extenddownward, to bear against the front sides of the swinging arms, so as toexert their force in the direction of the rearward swing of the treadle,and thus to aid the heel-leverage and transfer the main action upon thetoe-leverage, making the action of the treadle more regular and easy tothe operator.

tween the brackets and the swinging arms, with their lower ends bentover said arms near their connection with the bottom slotted bar; butthey maybe arranged and connected in any way that will produce theresult stated.

The swinging appliance, thus constructed in parts, can be readilyapplied to any machine in use without any special construction oftreadle or pitman-conneetion, which, so far as I know, is an advantagenotpossessed by any other swinging-treadle attachment.

In applying my swinging treadle to machines in use, it is only necessaryto remove the rod on which the treadle turns.

It will be understood that treadles suspended by a yoke hax e a compoundmovementthat is, a swinging movement back and forth in consonance withthe rocking actionand the treadle being in line with the ankle-jointconfines the work to the feet alone, and thereby avoids extending thestrain to the knees and hips; and in connection with such action myimprovements give very decided advantages in the particulars stated.

As shown, these springs are coiled upon the pivot-bearin gs be- Iclaim 1. In a swinging treadle for sewing-machines, the combination,with the treadle, of the separate slotted carrying-bar a and theseparate heel-plate 1), arranged across the top of the treadle andclamped thereon and to the slotted bar by screws 0 a, passing throughthe treadle and the slot of said bar a, and secured by nuts,substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. In a hanging and swinging treadle device for sewing-machines, theslotted bar a and the suspension-arms (I, having slotted lower angu--lar terminations, d, and adjustably secured to said bar by the bolts 6,in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. In a hanging and swinging treadle device for sewing-machines, thesuspension-arms d, having a series of holes,f, in their upper ends, incombination with the pivot-bearings g g and a clamping device by whichsaid pivoted armbearings are secured to the side frames of themachine,substantially in the manner described, wherebyto effect theadjustment of the angle of the treadle, for the purpose stated.

4. The combination, with a treadle for sewing-machines having both aswinging and a rocking movement to operate the driving-shaft, and inwhich the axis of said treadle is in line with the ankle-joints of theoperators feet, of springs 7c is, having fixed connections at theirupper ends and their free ends extending downward and exerting a forcein the direction of the swing of the treadle upon its suspensionarms cl61, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

5. A hanging and swinging treadle device consisting of the slottedtreadle-bar a, the suspension swinging arms d d, having a series ofholes, f, at their upper ends, the pivot-bearin gs g, the slotted andclamping bracket-plates h j, and reacting springs 70, all constructedand adapted for use substantially as and for the purpose herein setforth. 7

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

DAVID LEIB.

Witnesses: O. O. SHEPHERD, W. B. PAGE.

